and the theatre are especially sumptuous. The extensive gardens which occupy the hillside behind the palace are adorned with fountains and cascades; the botanical garden contains many trees from northern climates. Two miles north is S. Leucio, a village founded by Ferdinand IV. in 1789, with a royal casino, and large silk factories which are still active. The old town (Caserta Vecchia) lies high (1310 ft.) about 3 m. to the north-east. It was founded in the 9th century by the Lombards of Capua. The cathedral has not suffered from restoration. It was completed in 1153. It is a copy of that of Sessa Aurunca, and preserves the type of the Latin basilica. The campanile, Sicilian in style, was completed in 1234, while the dome, which betrays similar motives, is even later. Its pulpit is decorated with the richest polychrome mosaic that can be found anywhere in Sicily or south Italy, and is quite Moslem in its brilliance. It is indeed remarkable to find these motives in a church so far inland (Bertaux, L’Art dans l’Italie méridionale, Paris, 1904, i. 353, &c.). There are also the ruins of the old walls.
CASE-SHOT, a projectile used in ordnance for fighting at close quarters. It consists of a thin metal case containing a large number of bullets or other small projectiles (see Ammunition). Case-shot was formerly called “canister,” though the term now used occurs as early as 1625.
CASH. (1) (From O. Fr. casse, mod. caisse, a box or chest; cf. “case”), a term which, originally meaning a box in which money is kept, is now commonly applied to ready money or coin. In commercial and banking usage “cash” is sometimes confined to specie; it is also, in opposition to bills, drafts or securities, applied to bank-notes. Hence “to cash” means to convert cheques and other negotiable instruments into coin. In book-keeping, in such expressions as “petty cash,” “cash-book,” and the like, it has the same significance, and so also in “cash-payment” or ready-money payment as opposed to “credit,” however the payment may be made, by coin, notes or cheque.
The “cash on delivery” or “collect on delivery” system, known as C.O.D., is one whereby a tradesman can, through a delivery agency, send goods to a customer, and have the money due to him collected on the delivery of the same, with a guarantee from the carrier that, if no money be collected, the goods shall be returned. The function of such an agency is performed in the United States of America by the express companies (see Express). In most countries of the continent of Europe the post office acts as such an agent, as in Germany (where the system is known as Post-Nachnahme) and in France (contre remboursement). It is also in use in India, where it is known as “value payable,” and was introduced in 1877 in Australia. The advantages of the system are obvious, from the point of view both of the customer, who can, by post or telegram, order and obtain speedy delivery from large towns, and of the tradesman, whose area of trade is indefinitely extended. The system does away with credit or the delay and inconvenience of paying in advance. The success of the large “catalogue” houses in America has been mainly due to the system as operated by the express companies. At various times, notably in 1904, it has been proposed that the General Post Office of the United Kingdom should adopt the system. The consistent opposition of the retail traders in large urban centres other than the large stores, and of the country shopkeeper generally, has been sufficient to secure the refusal of the postmaster-general to the proposed scheme, but a commencement was made in 1908 for orders not exceeding £20 between the United Kingdom and Egypt, Cyprus and Malta, and certain British post offices in Turkey and Tangier.
(2) (From Tamil kasū, Sinhalese kasi, a small coin, adopted by Portuguese as caixa, a box, and similarly assimilated in English to “cash” above), a name given by English residents in the East to native coins of small value, and particularly to the copper coinage of China, the native name for which is tsien. This, the only coin minted by the government, should bear a fixed ratio of 1000 cash to one tael of silver, but in practice there is no such fixed value. It is the universal medium of exchange throughout China for all retail transactions. The tsien is a round disk of copper alloy, with a square hole punched through the centre for stringing. A “string of cash” amounts to 500 or 1000 cash, strung in divisions of 50 or 100.
CASHEL, a city of Co. Tipperary, Ireland, in the east parliamentary division, 5 m. S.E. of Goold’s Cross and Cashel station on the main line of the Great Southern & Western railway, 96 m. S.W. from Dublin. Pop. of urban district (1901) 2938. The town, which lies at the base of the Rock of Cashel, is of somewhat poor appearance, but contains several public buildings. There are also the cathedral church of St John the Baptist (c. 1780), the deanery house (once the bishop’s palace), and a Roman Catholic church. Cashel gives name to a Roman Catholic archdiocese.
The Rock of Cashel is the object of chief interest in the place. This elevation of limestone formation rises abruptly from the plain to a height of about 300 ft. and is a commanding object for many miles around. Its summit is occupied by one of the most interesting assemblages of ruins in Ireland, consisting of the remains of St Patrick’s cathedral, a round tower, Cormac’s chapel, and an ancient cross. The chapel, which is said to have been erected by King Cormac M‘Carthy in the 12th century, combines the ancient form of high stone roof, having chambers between the pitch and the vault, with the richest Norman decoration; the chancel arch being of especial magnificence. The cathedral, of the 13th century, is cruciform in design, with lancet windows and pointed arches, and contains many interesting sculptures and tombs. In the adjoining cemetery there stands, on a rude pedestal, whereon the kings of Munster were crowned, the “Cross of Cashel,” with an effigy of St Patrick and a portrayal of the Crucifixion sculptured on its sides. The round tower, situated at the north-east angle of the cathedral, is 80 ft. high with a circumference of 50 ft., and unlike the neighbouring ruins is built, not of the limestone of the “Rock,” but of freestone. Of the defences of the Rock a massive guard-tower and portions of the wall remain. At the base of the Rock is Hore Abbey, a Cistercian foundation (1272), exhibiting a similar style of architecture to that of the cathedral on the Rock; and within the town is a Dominican priory (1243), of which the east window is a beautiful example of the style of the period. From the Rock itself an extensive prospect is commanded over the rich Golden Vale backed by the Galtee Mountains, the Devil’s Bit, and other ranges; the clustering roofs of the city providing a picturesque foreground.
The history of Cashel belongs to the early period of Irish chronology. Legend states that the vision of an angel blessing the Rock, seen by two swineherds early in the 5th century, led Corc Mac Luighdheach, king of Munster, to establish a stronghold here. It became one of the principal seats of the kings of Munster, but in 1101 it was given over to the church by King Murkertagh O’Brien. It afterwards became noteworthy as the place where Henry II. received the homage of O’Brien, king of Limerick, and still later, where Edward Bruce held his Irish parliament. The cathedral was burnt in 1495 by the earl of Kildare. Cashel was taken by storm during the wars of 1647. It was reduced from an archbishopric to a bishopric in 1839, and was disfranchised, on account of corrupt practice, in 1870, having previously returned one member to parliament.
CASHEW NUT, the fruit of the cashew, cadju or acajou tree, Anacardium occidentale (nat. ord. Anacardiaceae), a native of the West Indian Islands. The fruit is kidney-shaped, about an inch in length, and the kernel is enclosed in two coverings, the outer of which is smooth, grey and leathery. Inside this external rind is a dark-coloured layer, containing an excessively acrid juice. The kernels have a bland, oily, pleasant taste. They are much eaten, both raw and roasted, in the tropical regions in which the tree is cultivated, and they yield a light-coloured, sweet-tasted oil, said to be equal to olive oil for culinary purposes. The fruit-stalk, immediately under the fruit, is swollen and fleshy, and assumes a pear-like shape. This swollen portion of the stalk has a pleasant acid taste, and is eaten under
